Better Health for Americans

Hillary Rodham Clinton (Democrat)

Clinton's platform makes stem cell research and health R&D a priority. She promises to rescind President Bush's ban on embryonic stem cell research and would promote stem cell research that complies with ethical standards. Clinton also proposes to increase the NIH budget by 50 percent over 5 years and aims to double it over 10 years.

John Edwards (Democrat)

Edwards's platform focuses on three key disease areas: HIV/AIDS, cancer, and autism. Within these core areas, he plans to increase research, improve access to healthcare and provide additional support for families dealing with these diseases. Edwards also favors expanding federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.

Rudy Giuliani (Republican)

Giuliani said in a debate that he supports limited federal funding of stem cell research "as long as we're not creating life in order to destroy it [and] as long as we're not having human cloning." Giuliani's health care plan includes streamlining the Food and Drug Adminstration drug approval process and investing in health IT.

Mike Gravel (Democrat)

Mike Gravel promises to slightly increase funding for medical research.

Mike Huckabee (Republican)

Huckabee opposes research on embryonic stem cells. His health care platform also proposes the adoption of electronic record keeping.

Duncan Hunter (Republican)

Hunter has consistently opposed bills that involve embryonic stem cell research, including the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act. He has supported bills such as the Alternative Pluripotent Stem Cell Therapies Enhancement Act, which would direct federal funding to stem-cell research that does not rely on embryos.

Dennis Kucinich (Democrat)

Kucinich supports federal funds for embryonic stem cell research.

John McCain (Republican)

McCain supports embryonic stem cell research. He has stated that he believes that embryonic stem cell research will continue whether or not the United States sanctions it, and so it would be the wisest course of action to support it to the extent that the United States would be able to regulate and monitor the usage.

Barack Obama (Democrat)

Obama supports rescinding President Bush's ban on embryonic stem cell research. He promises to invest in biomedical research as well as medical education and training in health-related fields. He also proposes to establish an independent institute for research on comparative effectiveness of treatments, and he supports increasing funding for autism research.

Bill Richardson (Democrat)

Richardson supports funding for embryonic stem cell research. As governor of New Mexico, he proposed an entirely state-funded research facility for the University of New Mexico to allow the school to do research on embryonic stem cell lines that is prohibited at institutions receiving federal funding. He supported a state bill to allow research on stem cells derived from embryos slated to be destroyed.

Ron Paul (Republican)

Paul opposes federal funding of stem cell research on "limited government" grounds. He also opposes increasing the Food and Drug Administration's powers to regulate products.

Mitt Romney (Republican)

Romney opposes research cloning, but supports research using human embryos left over from fertility treatments. However, he does not support federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.

Fred Thompson (Republican)

Thompson has stated that he is committed to speeding medical research and life sciences innovation as part of a high-quality health care system. Thompson supports adult stem-cell research, but not "stem-cell research where embryos of unborn children are destroyed."